Package template

Overview ▾

Package template implements data-driven templates for generating textual output.

To generate HTML output, see html/template, which has the same interface as this package but automatically secures HTML output against certain attacks.

Templates are executed by applying them to a data structure. Annotations in the template refer to elements of the data structure (typically a field of a struct or a key in a map) to control execution and derive values to be displayed. Execution of the template walks the structure and sets the cursor, represented by a period '.' and called "dot", to the value at the current location in the structure as execution proceeds.

The input text for a template is UTF-8-encoded text in any format. "Actions"--data evaluations or control structures--are delimited by "{{" and "}}"; all text outside actions is copied to the output unchanged.

Once parsed, a template may be executed safely in parallel, although if parallel executions share a Writer the output may be interleaved.

Here is a trivial example that prints "17 items are made of wool".

type Inventory struct {
	Material string
	Count    uint
}
sweaters := Inventory{"wool", 17}
tmpl, err := template.New("test").Parse("{{.Count}} items are made of {{.Material}}")
if err != nil { panic(err) }
err = tmpl.Execute(os.Stdout, sweaters)
if err != nil { panic(err) }

More intricate examples appear below.

Text and spaces

By default, all text between actions is copied verbatim when the template is executed. For example, the string " items are made of " in the example above appears on standard output when the program is run.

However, to aid in formatting template source code, if an action's left delimiter (by default "{{") is followed immediately by a minus sign and white space, all trailing white space is trimmed from the immediately preceding text. Similarly, if the right delimiter ("}}") is preceded by white space and a minus sign, all leading white space is trimmed from the immediately following text. In these trim markers, the white space must be present: "{{- 3}}" is like "{{3}}" but trims the immediately preceding text, while "{{-3}}" parses as an action containing the number -3.

For instance, when executing the template whose source is

"{{23 -}} < {{- 45}}"

the generated output would be

"23<45"

For this trimming, the definition of white space characters is the same as in Go: space, horizontal tab, carriage return, and newline.

Actions

Here is the list of actions. "Arguments" and "pipelines" are evaluations of data, defined in detail in the corresponding sections that follow.

{{/* a comment */}}
{{- /* a comment with white space trimmed from preceding and following text */ -}}
	A comment; discarded. May contain newlines.
	Comments do not nest and must start and end at the
	delimiters, as shown here.

{{pipeline}}
	The default textual representation (the same as would be
	printed by fmt.Print) of the value of the pipeline is copied
	to the output.

{{if pipeline}} T1 {{end}}
	If the value of the pipeline is empty, no output is generated;
	otherwise, T1 is executed. The empty values are false, 0, any
	nil pointer or interface value, and any array, slice, map, or
	string of length zero.
	Dot is unaffected.

{{if pipeline}} T1 {{else}} T0 {{end}}
	If the value of the pipeline is empty, T0 is executed;
	otherwise, T1 is executed. Dot is unaffected.

{{if pipeline}} T1 {{else if pipeline}} T0 {{end}}
	To simplify the appearance of if-else chains, the else action
	of an if may include another if directly; the effect is exactly
	the same as writing
		{{if pipeline}} T1 {{else}}{{if pipeline}} T0 {{end}}{{end}}

{{range pipeline}} T1 {{end}}
	The value of the pipeline must be an array, slice, map, or channel.
	If the value of the pipeline has length zero, nothing is output;
	otherwise, dot is set to the successive elements of the array,
	slice, or map and T1 is executed. If the value is a map and the
	keys are of basic type with a defined order, the elements will be
	visited in sorted key order.

{{range pipeline}} T1 {{else}} T0 {{end}}
	The value of the pipeline must be an array, slice, map, or channel.
	If the value of the pipeline has length zero, dot is unaffected and
	T0 is executed; otherwise, dot is set to the successive elements
	of the array, slice, or map and T1 is executed.

{{break}}
	The innermost {{range pipeline}} loop is ended early, stopping the
	current iteration and bypassing all remaining iterations.

{{continue}}
	The current iteration of the innermost {{range pipeline}} loop is
	stopped, and the loop starts the next iteration.

{{template "name"}}
	The template with the specified name is executed with nil data.

{{template "name" pipeline}}
	The template with the specified name is executed with dot set
	to the value of the pipeline.

{{block "name" pipeline}} T1 {{end}}
	A block is shorthand for defining a template
		{{define "name"}} T1 {{end}}
	and then executing it in place
		{{template "name" pipeline}}
	The typical use is to define a set of root templates that are
	then customized by redefining the block templates within.

{{with pipeline}} T1 {{end}}
	If the value of the pipeline is empty, no output is generated;
	otherwise, dot is set to the value of the pipeline and T1 is
	executed.

{{with pipeline}} T1 {{else}} T0 {{end}}
	If the value of the pipeline is empty, dot is unaffected and T0
	is executed; otherwise, dot is set to the value of the pipeline
	and T1 is executed.

{{with pipeline}} T1 {{else with pipeline}} T0 {{end}}
	To simplify the appearance of with-else chains, the else action
	of a with may include another with directly; the effect is exactly
	the same as writing
		{{with pipeline}} T1 {{else}}{{with pipeline}} T0 {{end}}{{end}}

Arguments

An argument is a simple value, denoted by one of the following.

• A boolean, string, character, integer, floating-point, imaginary or complex constant in Go syntax. These behave like Go's untyped constants. Note that, as in Go, whether a large integer constant overflows when assigned or passed to a function can depend on whether the host machine's ints are 32 or 64 bits.
• The keyword nil, representing an untyped Go nil.
• The character '.' (period): . The result is the value of dot.
• A variable name, which is a (possibly empty) alphanumeric string preceded by a dollar sign, such as $piOver2 or $ The result is the value of the variable. Variables are described below.
• The name of a field of the data, which must be a struct, preceded by a period, such as .Field The result is the value of the field. Field invocations may be chained: .Field1.Field2 Fields can also be evaluated on variables, including chaining: $x.Field1.Field2
• The name of a key of the data, which must be a map, preceded by a period, such as .Key The result is the map element value indexed by the key. Key invocations may be chained and combined with fields to any depth: .Field1.Key1.Field2.Key2 Although the key must be an alphanumeric identifier, unlike with field names they do not need to start with an upper case letter. Keys can also be evaluated on variables, including chaining: $x.key1.key2
• The name of a niladic method of the data, preceded by a period, such as .Method The result is the value of invoking the method with dot as the receiver, dot.Method(). Such a method must have one return value (of any type) or two return values, the second of which is an error. If it has two and the returned error is non-nil, execution terminates and an error is returned to the caller as the value of Execute. Method invocations may be chained and combined with fields and keys to any depth: .Field1.Key1.Method1.Field2.Key2.Method2 Methods can also be evaluated on variables, including chaining: $x.Method1.Field
• The name of a niladic function, such as fun The result is the value of invoking the function, fun(). The return types and values behave as in methods. Functions and function names are described below.
• A parenthesized instance of one the above, for grouping. The result may be accessed by a field or map key invocation. print (.F1 arg1) (.F2 arg2) (.StructValuedMethod "arg").Field

Arguments may evaluate to any type; if they are pointers the implementation automatically indirects to the base type when required. If an evaluation yields a function value, such as a function-valued field of a struct, the function is not invoked automatically, but it can be used as a truth value for an if action and the like. To invoke it, use the call function, defined below.

Pipelines

A pipeline is a possibly chained sequence of "commands". A command is a simple value (argument) or a function or method call, possibly with multiple arguments:

Argument
	The result is the value of evaluating the argument.
.Method [Argument...]
	The method can be alone or the last element of a chain but,
	unlike methods in the middle of a chain, it can take arguments.
	The result is the value of calling the method with the
	arguments:
		dot.Method(Argument1, etc.)
functionName [Argument...]
	The result is the value of calling the function associated
	with the name:
		function(Argument1, etc.)
	Functions and function names are described below.

A pipeline may be "chained" by separating a sequence of commands with pipeline characters '|'. In a chained pipeline, the result of each command is passed as the last argument of the following command. The output of the final command in the pipeline is the value of the pipeline.

The output of a command will be either one value or two values, the second of which has type error. If that second value is present and evaluates to non-nil, execution terminates and the error is returned to the caller of Execute.

Variables

A pipeline inside an action may initialize a variable to capture the result. The initialization has syntax

$variable := pipeline

where $variable is the name of the variable. An action that declares a variable produces no output.

Variables previously declared can also be assigned, using the syntax

$variable = pipeline

If a "range" action initializes a variable, the variable is set to the successive elements of the iteration. Also, a "range" may declare two variables, separated by a comma:

range $index, $element := pipeline

in which case $index and $element are set to the successive values of the array/slice index or map key and element, respectively. Note that if there is only one variable, it is assigned the element; this is opposite to the convention in Go range clauses.

A variable's scope extends to the "end" action of the control structure ("if", "with", or "range") in which it is declared, or to the end of the template if there is no such control structure. A template invocation does not inherit variables from the point of its invocation.

When execution begins, $ is set to the data argument passed to Execute, that is, to the starting value of dot.

Examples

Here are some example one-line templates demonstrating pipelines and variables. All produce the quoted word "output":

{{"\"output\""}}
	A string constant.
{{`"output"`}}
	A raw string constant.
{{printf "%q" "output"}}
	A function call.
{{"output" | printf "%q"}}
	A function call whose final argument comes from the previous
	command.
{{printf "%q" (print "out" "put")}}
	A parenthesized argument.
{{"put" | printf "%s%s" "out" | printf "%q"}}
	A more elaborate call.
{{"output" | printf "%s" | printf "%q"}}
	A longer chain.
{{with "output"}}{{printf "%q" .}}{{end}}
	A with action using dot.
{{with $x := "output" | printf "%q"}}{{$x}}{{end}}
	A with action that creates and uses a variable.
{{with $x := "output"}}{{printf "%q" $x}}{{end}}
	A with action that uses the variable in another action.
{{with $x := "output"}}{{$x | printf "%q"}}{{end}}
	The same, but pipelined.

Functions

During execution functions are found in two function maps: first in the template, then in the global function map. By default, no functions are defined in the template but the Funcs method can be used to add them.

Predefined global functions are named as follows.

and
	Returns the boolean AND of its arguments by returning the
	first empty argument or the last argument. That is,
	"and x y" behaves as "if x then y else x."
	Evaluation proceeds through the arguments left to right
	and returns when the result is determined.
call
	Returns the result of calling the first argument, which
	must be a function, with the remaining arguments as parameters.
	Thus "call .X.Y 1 2" is, in Go notation, dot.X.Y(1, 2) where
	Y is a func-valued field, map entry, or the like.
	The first argument must be the result of an evaluation
	that yields a value of function type (as distinct from
	a predefined function such as print). The function must
	return either one or two result values, the second of which
	is of type error. If the arguments don't match the function
	or the returned error value is non-nil, execution stops.
html
	Returns the escaped HTML equivalent of the textual
	representation of its arguments. This function is unavailable
	in html/template, with a few exceptions.
index
	Returns the result of indexing its first argument by the
	following arguments. Thus "index x 1 2 3" is, in Go syntax,
	x[1][2][3]. Each indexed item must be a map, slice, or array.
slice
	slice returns the result of slicing its first argument by the
	remaining arguments. Thus "slice x 1 2" is, in Go syntax, x[1:2],
	while "slice x" is x[:], "slice x 1" is x[1:], and "slice x 1 2 3"
	is x[1:2:3]. The first argument must be a string, slice, or array.
js
	Returns the escaped JavaScript equivalent of the textual
	representation of its arguments.
len
	Returns the integer length of its argument.
not
	Returns the boolean negation of its single argument.
or
	Returns the boolean OR of its arguments by returning the
	first non-empty argument or the last argument, that is,
	"or x y" behaves as "if x then x else y".
	Evaluation proceeds through the arguments left to right
	and returns when the result is determined.
print
	An alias for fmt.Sprint
printf
	An alias for fmt.Sprintf
println
	An alias for fmt.Sprintln
urlquery
	Returns the escaped value of the textual representation of
	its arguments in a form suitable for embedding in a URL query.
	This function is unavailable in html/template, with a few
	exceptions.

The boolean functions take any zero value to be false and a non-zero value to be true.

There is also a set of binary comparison operators defined as functions:

eq
	Returns the boolean truth of arg1 == arg2
ne
	Returns the boolean truth of arg1 != arg2
lt
	Returns the boolean truth of arg1 < arg2
le
	Returns the boolean truth of arg1 <= arg2
gt
	Returns the boolean truth of arg1 > arg2
ge
	Returns the boolean truth of arg1 >= arg2

For simpler multi-way equality tests, eq (only) accepts two or more arguments and compares the second and subsequent to the first, returning in effect

arg1==arg2 || arg1==arg3 || arg1==arg4 ...

(Unlike with || in Go, however, eq is a function call and all the arguments will be evaluated.)

The comparison functions work on any values whose type Go defines as comparable. For basic types such as integers, the rules are relaxed: size and exact type are ignored, so any integer value, signed or unsigned, may be compared with any other integer value. (The arithmetic value is compared, not the bit pattern, so all negative integers are less than all unsigned integers.) However, as usual, one may not compare an int with a float32 and so on.

Associated templates

Each template is named by a string specified when it is created. Also, each template is associated with zero or more other templates that it may invoke by name; such associations are transitive and form a name space of templates.

A template may use a template invocation to instantiate another associated template; see the explanation of the "template" action above. The name must be that of a template associated with the template that contains the invocation.

Nested template definitions

When parsing a template, another template may be defined and associated with the template being parsed. Template definitions must appear at the top level of the template, much like global variables in a Go program.

The syntax of such definitions is to surround each template declaration with a "define" and "end" action.

The define action names the template being created by providing a string constant. Here is a simple example:

{{define "T1"}}ONE{{end}}
{{define "T2"}}TWO{{end}}
{{define "T3"}}{{template "T1"}} {{template "T2"}}{{end}}
{{template "T3"}}

This defines two templates, T1 and T2, and a third T3 that invokes the other two when it is executed. Finally it invokes T3. If executed this template will produce the text

ONE TWO

By construction, a template may reside in only one association. If it's necessary to have a template addressable from multiple associations, the template definition must be parsed multiple times to create distinct *Template values, or must be copied with Template.Clone or Template.AddParseTree.

Parse may be called multiple times to assemble the various associated templates; see ParseFiles, ParseGlob, Template.ParseFiles and Template.ParseGlob for simple ways to parse related templates stored in files.

A template may be executed directly or through Template.ExecuteTemplate, which executes an associated template identified by name. To invoke our example above, we might write,

err := tmpl.Execute(os.Stdout, "no data needed")
if err != nil {
	log.Fatalf("execution failed: %s", err)
}

or to invoke a particular template explicitly by name,

err := tmpl.ExecuteTemplate(os.Stdout, "T2", "no data needed")
if err != nil {
	log.Fatalf("execution failed: %s", err)
}

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Package files

doc.go exec.go funcs.go helper.go option.go template.go